


The Premiere

by BexYZ



Category: Community (TV)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:02:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28432872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BexYZ/pseuds/BexYZ
Summary: It's Abed's big night and the group has come to LA to support him...including one surprise visitor.
Relationships: Troy Barnes/Abed Nadir
Comments: 8
Kudos: 82





	The Premiere

Abed took a deep breath and fidgeted with the tie that Annie had tied for him just a few hours earlier. He looked out the window and saw dozens of cameras pointed at the car ahead of them, photographers waiting not so patiently for the next guest to step out onto the red carpet. 

He felt a hand on his arm steadying him. His agent, Ana, gave him one of her rare smiles. She was usually a serious go-getter type. Polite, friendly, but not overly so. A good person to keep his head on the ground when he got too wrapped up in his creative ideas. She’d been with him long enough to read the anxiety in his eyes and knew the thought of facing the crowd was starting to overwhelm him.

“You’ve got this,” she said. “I’m so proud of you.”

“Thanks.”

The studio had sent a car to pick him up and bring him to The Premiere. It was capitalized in his mind because this was the big one. His first major studio project as a solo director. Abed felt the car move ahead and knew it was his turn to face the red carpet. 

“If you get nervous, just do your character thing,” Ana told him. She’d seen him slip into different personas and knew he must have one that could get him through the line and into the theater. She didn’t want his big night to be thrown off before it even began.

Abed nodded. She watched him change his features from his usual stoic expression into a confident grin and his shoulders relaxed. “Let’s do this.”

He stepped out of the vehicle and straightened his jacket. He looked up at the cameras and ran his hand through his hair. He’d let it grow out since moving to LA but had gotten even Jeff’s seal of approval before leaving his apartment earlier in the evening, so he hoped it was still okay. He fixed an easy smile on his face and waved occasionally at the crowd, answering the questions from the reporters with a combination of sincerity and humor he’d gained from watching hours of interviews in the previous weeks. 

He finally reached his destination and let out a deep breath once he was safely in the theater. He’d run the gauntlet successfully. 

“Okay...who was that?” Ana asked when she finally caught up with him.

“Two parts Ryan Reynolds, one part Chris Pratt in Parks and Rec, one part Chris Pratt in Guardians of the Galaxy, and one part Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes.”

Ana raised an eyebrow at him but simply shrugged and said, “Whatever works. You did great. Now let’s go see this movie!”  
___  
Abed felt like he was watching his life outside of his body. The premiere had gone beautifully. Critics’ feedback was already overwhelmingly positive. And now that he’d made it to the after party he was finally able to meet up with his friends who had made the trip all the way to LA to be here for his big night.

Annie was the first to run up and hug him around his neck, squealing happily. Britta and Shirley got to him next, each taking one side, throwing an arm around his back, and telling him how proud they were of him and how great the movie was. Finally, Jeff shook his hand and then pulled him closer into a rough hug and thumped him on the back a few times with his other hand. “Great job, man,” he said in a low voice before letting him go.

Abed looked at his friends, his heart nearly feeling full. He knew one last important piece was missing, but he pushed that thought down deep. He wanted to focus on the positive tonight.

They all went to find food and then Abed took them around, introducing them to the actors and crew members. He couldn’t wipe the smile off of his face.

“What happened to your date, Annie?” he asked, remembering the extra ticket she’d asked him for earlier in the week.

“Oh, something came up at the last minute,” she squeaked. “He said he might be able to make it to the after-after-party.” Abed noticed that her voice sounded abnormal and she was making a little too much eye contact with Britta, but he shrugged it off. If something was wrong, she’d let him know. Tonight was going to be a good night.  
___  
The after-after-party was in one of the nicer clubs in LA. The music was loud and the lights were bright, but at least the decor was classy and the floor wasn’t sticky.

“They’ve got a private room for us near the back,” Abed shouted to the group over the music. “It might be a little quieter.”

They followed him through the crowd and made it to an area near the back of the club with a big booth and a few extra seats scattered around. It wasn’t quiet, but they could at least hear one another without damaging their vocal cords.

They ordered some drinks and after the first round they went out to the dance floor. He and Annie channeled their apartment dance parties from back in Greendale. No one would say they were great, but they were having fun. Jeff and Britta were moving closer and closer together, bouncing to the beat. Shirley blew them all away. She had moves.

Annie snuck a look at her phone and then leaned in to loudly ask, “Do you want to take a break? I need to get off these heels for a minute.”

The group made it back to their designated area and ordered another round before Abed noticed the awkward looks they were all exchanging. 

“What’s going on? Did Jeff and Britta make out on the dance floor or something?” he asked. Jeff and Britta both loudly protested and refused to make eye contact with each other before Annie intervened.

“I think my plus one is here, Abed,” she said, a smile breaking out across her face and looking past Abed at the door to their room. Abed turned around. His jaw dropped, his eyes widened, and he reached for Annie’s hand to grip it tightly, grounding himself.

A familiar smile spread across an older face than he remembered. His hair was longer too and he hadn’t shaved in a few days. He looked amazing.

“Hey, Abed.”

“Hey, Troy.”  
___  
Abed felt frozen in place, waiting for his brain to catch up to reality. He looked back and forth between Troy and Annie before the former came forward and gripped him in a tight hug. Abed returned the embrace and his lungs filled with the smell of salt water and shampoo and something indescribably Troy.

“Are you really back?” he finally asked, still not letting go of his friend.

“Yes. I’m really back,” Troy answered into Abed’s shoulder. “I missed you so much, Abed.”

“I missed you too.”

They stood together for, he had no idea how long, before Jeff cleared his throat. “This is beautiful, really, but some of us would also like to greet Troy. You can have him back after. I promise,” he said with a smile.

The best friends broke apart and the others all hugged Troy and welcomed him home and expressed how much they missed him as Abed watched, still trying to convince himself that this was really the man who had left five long years ago. It had felt even longer after Troy had lost his phone and their only communication was infrequent emails from internet cafes and postcards from cities Troy had already left weeks before.

Troy was explaining his tardiness to the group, but Abed barely listened to the epic tale of a thunderstorm followed by a fueling issue on the coast ending in LA traffic. The ending would have seemed anticlimactic if it hadn’t also brought back his funny, brave, clever, attractive best friend.

Attractive?

Yes, attractive. Abed didn’t have the emotional endurance tonight to even bother fighting it anymore. He’d spent the last few years ignoring the feelings he knew were there for Troy, not out of embarrassment or shame but out of self-preservation. How could he face loving Troy if he wasn’t sure he would ever come back to him? How could he live knowing he had been so close to his happy ending for years before it left on a boat to sail around the world?

Abed had thrown his attention and his emotions into his work. It showed. His passion had been evident even as a production assistant, helping him move up through the ranks while also completing side projects during evenings and weekends. A studio saw one of these films and it had landed him this opportunity. He had the career he’d been waiting for. Could the rest of his dreams be standing in front of him? Waving his hands in his face and trying to get his attention?

“Abed? Abed, we were wondering if you wanted to dance again?” Troy had laid a hand on his shoulder and Abed visibly jerked back to the present. The rest of the group was looking at them. Abed wondered how long he’d been out of it.

“Troy said he spent a lot of time clubbing in Europe and he was going to show us what he learned!” Annie laughed. Troy rolled his eyes and blushed, but grabbed Abed’s and Annie’s hands and led them out onto the dance floor anyway.

The group found a spot on the dance floor big enough for all of them. They started together, but naturally split off into pairs as the night progressed. Britta and Jeff had gotten everyone a round of shots earlier, but Abed suspected they’d gotten a few more on their own as they were now sloppily making out against a wall near the bathrooms. Shirley and Annie were dancing and giggling and making eyes at a couple of his actors. They were good guys, so he wasn’t worried. That left him and Troy.

“Annie said you could show us some moves,” Abed loudly said in Troy’s ear, trying to be heard over the music.

Troy blushed again. “I didn’t really say that. I just mentioned I’d done some clubbing and she took it from there. The clubs I went to in Europe weren’t exactly like this one.”

“How so?”

“Well,” Troy began, looking at a spot somewhere over Abed’s shoulder. “I kinda figured some stuff out on my trip. I, uh...I spent more time in flashy gay bars than in classy ones like this one.” Troy looked back at Abed to see how his confession would land. Abed swallowed and felt a warmth he’d like to call hope in his chest.

“Cool,” Abed said finally. “There are some good ones here in LA too.”

Troy’s expression changed to one Abed couldn’t identify. Had they been separated too long for him to read Troy anymore?

“Did some of your production friends drag you out against your will?” Troy joked awkwardly. 

Abed took a chance and laid a hand on Troy’s arm before leaning closer to say, “No. I was lonely when I got to LA. I thought I might find a distraction from missing people.”

Troy put his hand on Abed’s chest, holding the lapel of his jacket. He looked down at his shoes before looking up to meet Abed’s eyes. “Missing any people in particular? Or just everyone?”

Abed took a deep breath. “It’s you, Troy. It’s always been you.”

Troy smiled and moved his hand to the back of Abed’s head. He tangled his fingers in his hair and pulled him close. Abed saw explosions behind his eyelids as they kissed.

“I like the longer hair,” Troy said.

“I like yours too,” Abed smiled back.

Pulling Troy back in for another kiss, Abed realized he had been a little off on his prediction. Tonight wasn't just a good night. It was the best.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! :D
> 
> Comments/constructive criticism welcome (and make me think that maybe I'm not totally crazy for posting these lol)!


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